This title is so misleading. France hasn’t banned the device, and the radiation levels could likely be fixed with a software update. French officials have stated that they may prohibit sale and issue a recall IF Apple doesn’t respond to their request. The article says as much:
France’s junior minister for the digital economy, Jean-Noël Barrot, told newspaper Le Parisien that a software update would be able to address the radiation issues linked to the iPhone 12. Apple has two weeks to respond to France’s request, if it fails to do so, Barrot stated that he is prepared to issue a recall of the device, which went on sale in 2020.
Also, why the hell did it take French agencies 4 years to test this device? Even if Apple says they won’t update the phones and is forced to stop selling them, taking a 4 year old phone off the market won’t really hurt them in any way.
Apple hasn’t sold them in a few years anyway. It would only affect third party sellers.
It would also affect already sold units. They are giving apple 2 weeks to come up with a software fix to remediate already sold units and if apple fails to comply, they will force apple to recall all the iPhone 12s still in use.
I think they still sell refurbed 12s.
Removed by mod
they do, my sister just bought one
The article says:
The French agency that regulates radio frequencies, the ANFR, has notified Apple of its decision to ban iPhone 12 sales after tests showed the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was above the allowed limit.
Followed by this quote:
The ANFR said it would verify that the iPhone 12 models were no longer being offered for sale in France starting today.
That sounds a lot like “banned” to me. Considering those two quotes, I don’t think the article title is misleading. It sounds like they are banning sales effective immediately, and will force apple to conduct a recall if they can’t retroactively fix the already sold units.
The FCC has a decent article on what the SAR (specific absorption rate) actually means.
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/specific-absorption-rate-sar-cell-phones-what-it-means-you
Tldr: France is wrong here, and no one should confuse SAR with "“radiation.”
Honestly not to defend apple here… but does the timing of this announcement seem a bit too convenient.
as someone who’s had the 12 mini for a couple of years now, what does this mean for me?
have i been irreparably harmed? is there a pressing need for me to get rid of that device?
Your head might have gotten a little bit warmer compared to someone using a different phone while calling, especially if you live in an area with poor coverage.
i am known for my short temper. maybe that’s where i got the hot head?
Not great but not terrible.
I thought the iPhone 12 hasn’t been sold since 2021, so why does it even matter if the iPhone 12 is not compliant with a more modern standard?